Which is the best Portland neighborhood for us? (Beaverton, Beaver: rent, transfer)

[travveller]

It looks like my husband will be transferred to Beaverton in the next few months. I love the idea of living in/around Portland, as it will be a relief from the Kansas City heat. (We've lived in Seattle, too, so the rain won't bother us.) But I need help figuring out which neighborhoods to focus our search in. (We'll likely rent for a year before buying, just to get the lay of the land.)

My husband is a programmer, and I'm a potter (hand-thrown ceramics.) We have an 8 year old daughter. (Also a dog and a cat.) I'd like to find a neighborhood that's not too urban, but also not too suburban bland. We'd like it to be walkable, with at least a bookstore, a grocery store, and a coffee shop, with safe places for biking. Access to green spaces is very important, and we prefer slightly hilly to completely flat. It needs to be within a reasonable commute to Beaverton, and I think I'd like to remain on the west side of the city.

One thing I won't compromise on is safety. I want my daughter to be safe while she's outside, even if we don't have eyes on her every second of the day.

Oh, and a farmer's market is a plus!

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

[SETabor]

Downtown Beaverton sounds like it would fit the bill. There's a farmer's market during the summer, a large public library, shops and restaurants, etc. You'd give up the slightly hilly request. The only downside is that the downtown area that would be great to live in is fairly small and pretty soon gives way to more typical suburban housing.

If hilly is definitely on your list, consider Multnomah Village. There's a bookstore, coffee shop, etc in the Village center and Gabriel Park is nearby for biking, etc. If you end up on the north side of the park, you could cut through it to get to the Village but it's a bit of a haul.

[oldtintype]

Hillsdale or Multnomah Village!

[turquoise1]

Multnomah Village is quainter looking with a walkable strip, while Hillsdale has more everyday amenities (Food Front, etc). Hillsdale has a really great community center. It's a tough call!

[skiffrace]

Any chance your hubby is going to work for Nike there?
If so, there is so much he does not know...

[sayulita]

I live in Hillsdale right next to Multnomah Village and love it here. Not sure where in Beaverton your husband will be working, but it's a decent commute. No freeways from here to there, so surface streets and traffic lights will likely figure into his commute.

[Deezus]

If you're looking for somewhere on the westside--then as other have said in Portland you should look at the area around Hillsdale and Multnomah Village. Sort of a nice neighborhood somwewhere in between the feel of the walkable little village neighborhood districts of the inner Eastside of Portland and the more suburban westside.

Actually your description below fits Multnomah Village and Hillsdale areas almost to a T...

I'd like to find a neighborhood that's not too urban, but also not too suburban bland. We'd like it to be walkable, with at least a bookstore, a grocery store, and a coffee shop, with safe places for biking. Access to green spaces is very important, and we prefer slightly hilly to completely flat. It needs to be within a reasonable commute to Beaverton, and I think I'd like to remain on the west side of the city.

It's all slightly hilly and there's a good small bookstore in Multnomah Village and a great farmer's market in Hillsdale. There's a number of good restaurants and couple smaller grocery stores--though there's more just down the road and downtown Portland is really close. Other than that the other area on the Westside would be in the edges of NW Portland--sort of the northern areas off of NW 21st or 23rd though that's a bit more urban in feel(and fairly expensive). The east side of Portland has a lot of places that would fit what you're looking for to some extent though it's a longer commute to Beaverton.

[Nell Plotts]

A programmer transferred from KC? I doubt that he is a NIKE employee.

[travveller]

Thanks so much for the input! I love that it's a short list - makes scouting a lot easier. Is there a big difference in school quality between Hillsdale and Multnomah Village?

And no, my husband doesn't work for Nike. It's a smaller, legal systems company.

[oldtintype]

They're both the same high school and middle school but its possible they might be different elementary schools depending on where you are. Check out Hayhurst, Capital Hill and Rieke. Both areas should be somewhere within those school boundaries from what I can tell. Portland Public Schools